*This post is part of a series of posts emphasizing the importance of the Lord’s Day in the life of the Christian. If you missed part 1, click here to read: The Biblical Basis for the Lord’s Day
If you missed part 2, click here to read: The Neglect of the Lord’s Day
In the last post, I highlighted the growing neglect of the Lord’s Day within American culture. Sadly, many view and treat Sunday as a ‘second Saturday’ (for hobbies, chores, sports, and personal pursuits). Yet, it is important to be reminded that Sunday is not ‘your day’ but the ‘Lord’s Day’. For the Christian, the Lord’s Day is both a delight (Ps. 122:1) and a duty (Heb. 10:25).
In this post, I want to answer the question: Why do we need the Lord’s Day? In other words, why do we need the weekly rhythm of assembling with the saints, hearing the Word, and worshipping Christ in the context of the local church? Is it really that important?
I would strongly argue that ‘YES’ it is vitally important in the Christian life. Nothing can replace a week in and week out commitment to gathering with your local church. NOTHING! Not listening to sermons on the internet, not reading good Christian books, not listening to Christian podcasts. All those things can be helpful and spiritually edifying, yet none of them should ever been seen as a replacement of or an equivalent to weekly fellowship with God’s people in the local church.
Do you want to be physically strong? Then try getting in physical shape by working out once a month (or a few times a year)! As much as we wish it worked that way, the reality is that it doesn’t. Getting in physical shape takes a regular, week in and week out commitment to physical training. And the same principle applies in the spiritual realm. Nothing will strengthen a believer as much or as quickly as the weekly rhythm of corporate worship in the local church.
Consider 7 reasons why you and your family need to gather with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day (in no particular order):
- It protects you from a self-centered and narcissistic lifestyle and calls you to a life of selfless service. The New Testament is full of ‘one another’ commands that are to be lived out in the context of the local church. Gathering with the church reminds you of your God-given responsibilities to other believers and protects you from becoming self-centered (which is our default position).
- It helps keep your sinful nature in check. In a Bible-preaching church, sin is regularly confronted, and believers are regularly called to a holy life. If your church is a Bible-preaching church, you will not be comfortable living in sin and attending it at the same time. Rather, a Biblical church will call people to repentance and to a holy life on a regular basis protecting you from going down a path of destruction.
- It will strengthen your marriage and family life. Couples and families that attend church regularly will be equipped with timeless principles from God’s Word to help order their homes in a God-glorifying way. Regularly gathering with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day also teaches your children the value and priority of the local church. It has been said that: “When church becomes optional to you, it will become unnecessary to your children.”
- It provides godly accountability and mutual encouragement. The Christian life is designed to be lived in the context of a community of believers. We must resist the temptation to adopt an individualistic ‘lone-ranger’ style of Christianity. Rather, God has ordained the local church to play a vital role in your life and you will miss out on its crucial benefits if you choose to neglect it.
- It aids in sanctification. This is one of the chief benefits of weekly fellowship in the local church- the preaching of the Word, fellowship of the saints, worship of God, sacrificial giving, prayer, partaking in ordinances- all have a vital part in the sanctifying and maturing of our faith.
- It surrounds you with support. Being around other believers on a weekly basis provides regular spiritual support- through prayer, encouragement, comfort, and fellowship. Everyone has seasons of life when they need others to lift them up in times of difficulty. Gathering with the saints on the Lord’s Day surrounds you with the regular spiritual support of a faith family that cares for you.
- It protects you from being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14). I have found that some of most spiritually naïve Christians are those who are not committed to the weekly fellowship of the saints. Spiritual wolves go after sheep that are far from the Shepherd and far from the flock. The internet is full of strange heresies and deceptive teachings that are turning people from the truth. The local church is an extra measure of spiritual protection for you and your family in an age of increasing apostasy.
Many more reasons could be given about the importance of gathering with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day on a weekly basis! Let me encourage you this week (and every week) to gather with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day!
~Pastor Aaron Francis
